Historical Ocean Station and Bathythermograph Data from Caribbean and North Atlantic

NOAA NCEI provides ocean station and selected depth bathythermograph data collected from vessels like CARIBIA EXPRESS and USCGC Chase. The dataset spans from September 1968 to December 1984, covering the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. Observations were processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into standard C100 and C125 formats, containing physical-chemical measurements at discrete depth levels.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temperature and salinity profiles (C100 format) to study ocean stratification changes over the 16-year period.
• Investigating nutrient cycles by examining columns for phosphate, silicate, nitrate, and nitrite concentrations at various depths.
• Correlating meteorological conditions (air temperature, pressure, wind) reported at cast time with subsurface oceanographic measurements.
• Using computed values like density (sigma-t) and sound velocity for historical ocean acoustic or water mass analysis.
• Mapping the distribution of oceanographic parameters like dissolved oxygen and pH across the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean.

Strengths

• Data covers a multi-decade time range from 1968 to 1984, enabling long-term trend analysis.
• Includes a wide array of measured parameters: temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, multiple nutrients, and pH.
• Data is standardized into NODC C100 and C125 formats, ensuring consistent structure and computed fields like sigma-t.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• A small portion (approximately 5%) of data originates from early electronic CTD/STD recorders, with the majority from bottle casts, potentially affecting measurement precision consistency.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear due to conflicting last updated dates (1984 vs 2026), suggesting possible metadata processing dates versus actual data collection end.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information)

Collection Method

Observations made primarily via multi-bottle Nansen casts and water samplers, with a minor portion from electronic CTD/STD recorders, processed to NODC standard formats.

Time Range

1968-09-01 to 1984-12-29

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:00:12.021673

Geography

Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean